fictionaltvstationsfandomcom-20200216-history
WFXG
WFXG, virtual channel 45 (UHF digital channel 46), is a Fox-affiliated television station located in Gotham City, New Jersey. The station is owned by Koopa Troop Communications. Gallery Coming Soon! Newscast Titles * The Ten O'Clock News (1974-1995) * Fox News (1995-2003) * Fox 45 News (2003-present) Station ID History * This is TV-45. WFFG Gotham City. (1974-1979) * You're Watching WFFG-TV, Gotham City's TV-45. (1979-1984) * This is WFFG TV-45, Gotham City. A Taft Station. (1984-1987) * You're Watching TV-45. WFXG Gotham City. Your Home for Fox. (1987-1988) * This is WFXG-TV, Fox 45 in Gotham City. (1988-1990) * This is WFXG, Fox 45 in Gotham City. (1990-1991) * WFXG, Fox 45 in Gotham City. (1991-1994) * You're Watching WFXG-TV Gotham City. (1994-1995) * You're Watching Fox Gotham City. (1995-2003) * You're Watching WFXG, Fox 45. (2003-present) Current On-Air Staff * Joe Ball - anchor; weekday mornings (1996) * Lori Orlando - anchor; weekday mornings (2000) * Tim Wyler - anchor; weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 (1999) * Tina Hill - anchor; weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 (2004) * Daniel Robertson - anchor; weekend mornings (2009) * Nina Stone - anchor; weekend mornings (2013) * Oliver Hadlock - anchor; weekend evenings (1997) * Melinda Maglio - anchor; weekend evenings (2005) Fox 45 Weather Team * Luke Bonker - meteorologist; weekday mornings (1998) * Lisa Echoson - chief meteorologist (AMS/CBM Seal of Approval); weeknights at 5, 6, and 10 (2000) * Mark Littman - meteorologist; weekend mornings (2012) * Eliza Sajak - meteorologist; weekend evenings (2006) Fox 45 Sports * Marty Benderson - sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 (2002) Programming Schedules Current Programming Schedule History The station signed on the air on May 25, 1974, as independent station WFFG-TV, originally owned by Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting. WFFG-TV was the first commercial UHF station in Gotham City, and the Gotham City market's second independent station, after WKGC (channel 4, now a CW affiliate). Under Taft's ownership, WFFG-TV established itself as a local powerhouse. It ran programs from Taft's archive, such as Hanna-Barbera cartoons, which from 1979 onward were distributed by Worldvision Enterprises (which Taft had purchased), and later on the Quinn Martin library. In the 1980s, the station also aired network shows that NBC affiliate (now owned-and-operated station) WNKW (channel 11) and then-CBS affiliate WGCN (channel 9, now an ABC affiliate) preempted in favor of local programming. After WKGC turned down an offer to affiliate with the new Fox network prior to its launch in 1986, WFFG-TV stepped in, and signed a deal to join the network. Channel 45 became a charter affiliate of Fox when it launched on October 6 of that year; however, the schedule didn't change that much, since Fox didn't air a full week of programming until 1993; for all intents and purposes, it was still programmed as an independent. Taft sold its independent and Fox-affiliated stations, including WFFG-TV, to the Norfolk, Virginia-based TVX Broadcast Group in February 1987. On June 1, 1987, the new owners replaced the second F in the call letters with an X''', changing it to '''WFXG. The Taft purchase created a large debt load for TVX, and as a result, the company sold a number of its smaller stations. Paramount Pictures purchased a majority stake in TVX in 1989. The following year, after branding itself as "TV-45" for many years, the station changed its on-air branding to "Fox 45". In 1991, Paramount acquired the remaining stock in TVX that it did not already own, and the company's name was changed to the Paramount Stations Group. In the late summer of 1993, Fox shockingly announced its intention to purchase rival independent WJLX-TV (channel 60, now a MyNetworkTV affiliate) from Nintendo and move its programming there in April 1994. As staffers at WFXG continued to reel in the aftermath of that announcement, its corporate parent was undergoing a transition of its own. Only one month later, in September, the original Viacom agreed in principle to merge with Paramount. Not long after that, home shopping giant QVC mounted a competing bid and the two firms entered into an intense bidding war, in which Viacom ultimately prevailed in February 1994, with the deal closing on March 11. Meanwhile, in late October 1993, Paramount announced plans to create a new network, the United Paramount Network (UPN), which it would co-own with Chris-Craft Industries. The initial affiliation plans called for WFXG, which was set to lose Fox to WJLX, becoming the Gotham City outlet for the new network, which was targeted to launch in January 1995. However, Fox's purchase of WJLX fell through in early 1994, making it increasingly unlikely that Paramount would want to drop Fox programming from channel 45 (particularly after Fox acquired the rights to show games from the NFL's National Football Conference); nonetheless, during the spring, WFXG gradually de-emphasized its Fox affiliation, changing its branding to simply "45". Several months later, the shoe dropped on the biggest affiliation shuffle in Gotham City television history. In the summer of 1994, ABC announced that its longtime owned-and-operated station, WGC-TV (channel 7), would be sold to allow the network to purchase it's affiliates in Klinkerton, Planet Mixel and Flint, Michigan, along with then-NBC affiliate WOVI in Toledo, Ohio. Depending on the highest bidder, WGC-TV would potentially drop ABC in favor of another network. Several months earlier, Fox entered into a multi-station, multi-year partnership with New World Communications. New World and CBS emerged as the leading bidders for WGC-TV, with New World intending to switch WGC-TV to Fox if it emerged victorious. Fox also joined the bidding for WGC-TV in case New World's bid failed. Meanwhile, another affiliation shuffle was taking place in Milwaukee, where that market's Koopa Troop Television Network affiliate, WISC, was sold to New Line Network and flipped to that network as WNLMW, with KTTN moving to New Line's former Milwaukee affiliate, WCGV, which Koopa Troop Communications purchased in turn. This caused Paramount/Viacom to change its Gotham City plans, with Paramount/Viacom deciding to sell WFXG to Koopa Troop Communications as well. Almost simultaneously, Viacom bought WJLX and made it a UPN O&O. The transactions involving Viacom, Koopa Troop Communications and Nintendo closed on the same day—August 25, 1995. That year, the station changed its branding to "Fox Gotham City". In 2003, the station returned to the "Fox 45" branding and changed its newscast title to "Fox 45 News". Under Koopa Troop Communications ownership, WFXG immediately added more first run talk and reality shows to the schedule. WFXG underwent a major overhaul of its studio facilities, with a "Window on the World"-type studio making its debut on June 6, 2005. The "Window of the World" studio was originally intended to be used for the station's morning newscast. Category:Channel 45 Category:Television channels and stations established in 1974 Category:Gotham City Category:New Jersey Category:Koopa Troop Communications Category:FOX affiliated stations Category:Fox affiliated stations Category:Former independent stations Category:Former Independent stations